FleetWatch - mw-07-Blind Spot

The simple piece of plastic is actually a Fresnel lens designed to eliminate the blind spot on the passenger side of heavy trucks. Once fitted it easily makes visible to the driver pedestrians, cyclists or other vehicles situated immediately below the left hand side passenger door.

Heavy truck drivers battle to see smaller vehicles next to the passenger side of their vehicles due to a blind spot. This exposes these little ‘uns to the risk of being sideswiped by the trucks should the truck driver decide to change lanes.

This is a situation which has bedevilled truck manufacturers, drivers, fleet operators and safety authorities for years so Frensel in the UK decided to do something about it by developing the Fresnel lens, a simple solution to a difficult problem.

A Fresnel lens is nothing more than a small sheet of flexible plastic, about the size of an A4 piece of paper with a moulded optical lens. After a quick wipe with a damp cloth, the lens will stick to flat glass and provides truck drivers with the view that covers the blind spot immediately next to the passenger side of the vehicle. Something similar to this was seen in this country some years ago. They were used on caravans to help drivers get their reversing angle right without demolishing the caravan alongside.

Fresnel in the UK took the original concept and updated it. Local distributor, Alan Coombs of Kingfish Fresnel Lenses, says the focal point of the lens has been shifted so when it is placed on the passenger window of a truck, it reveals a pedestrian, cyclist or motor vehicle or other obstruction immediately beneath and to the front of the window. In other words, it eliminates the blind spot.

Mervyn Knickelbein, technical and maintenance manager of Engen Oil, says he has fitted a test unit on one of the company’s vehicles and the feedback from the drivers has been extremely positive.

“One wonders,” he comments, “that with three or more mirrors on the left hand side of the vehicle which has failed to eliminate the blind spot, why the manufacturers have not come up with this idea.”

The Fresnel lens is simple and really does eliminate a major vehicle safety problem.

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